Fifteen people were killed and one missing after a passenger boat was swept by the tide and capsized in Nigeria’s economic capital Lagos, emergency services said Sunday.
The tragedy occurred on Friday evening, two days after two people were killed in another boat accident in this city of more than 20 million people.
“There were 16 passengers on board at the time of the accident,” Ibrahim Farinloye of the National Emergency Management Agency told AFP.
According to him, four bodies were found on Saturday, and on Sunday rescue forces recovered 11 more. The 16th passenger was not found on Sunday afternoon.
According to Sara Braima, the regional director of the Lagos State (Lasua) Waterways Authority, the boat “violated the rules”. […] Regarding late travel by sailing at 7:45 p.m.
The tide caused the boat to drift and then capsize, she added, adding that the passengers did not have life jackets.
The city of Lagos developed on a lagoon overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
Boat accidents – often overloaded and poorly maintained – are common in Nigerian waterways, especially during the rainy season.
On Wednesday, two people were killed and 15 others rescued when their boat capsized in Ikorodu, outside Lagos.
